5 Biggest Surprises Of The NJPW G1 29 Tournament So Far
The best pro wrestling on the planet? NJPW's top talent is acting like they've something to prove.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 tournament is widely known as one of the most grueling, acrobatic displays of endurance throughout professional wrestling. And for Westerners new to the King of Pro Sports marquee summer spectacle, there seemed like more questions than answers coming into this year’s event.
Following an incredible Best of Super Jr.’s tournament – whose top two studs entered into the G1 29 alongside the heavyweights – several talents are jockeying to fill the void left by the departure of The Elite back in January. And, for the most part, conventional wisdom has fell flat.
Here are the biggest surprises of NJPW’s G1 29 thus far:
5. Minorou Suzuki's Eviction
The questionable omission of ageless superstar and legit badass Minorou Suzuki seems to have galvanized all of Suzuki-gun. Taichi scored crucial victories over Tetsuya Naito and Hirooki Goto in a pair of stellar bouts in Hokkaido and Hiroshima, while Lance Archer has channeled his circa ‘98 era Undertaker while turning it up to levels previously unseen during his run with K.E.S.
"EVERYBODY DIES," Archer recently told WhatCulture. Even fan favorite Hiroshi Tanahashi had to endure a hot Korakuen Hall half-full of Archer supporters. The 6’8” powerhouse even scored several G1 #MVP write-in nods on a recent Twitter poll by njpwworld.com broadcaster Kevin Kelly, who curiously left his name off the ballot.